Trees in the Upper Treeline Ecotone in the Polar Urals: Centuries-Old Change and Spatial Patterns

Abstract

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Reconstruction of the Expansion of Siberian Larch into the Mountain Tundra in the Polar Urals in the 20th—Early 21st Centuries

“…Figure 5a demonstrates that the maximum number of larch specimens from the 1-10 year age category (yellow dots) is surrounded by trees from the 11-40 and 40+ age categories. This pattern can be due to several reasons, including presence of the trees in fruiting stage that serve as a semination source for the territory, and protection of younger trees from snow abrasion by larger trees [8,17,27]. The map presented in Figure 5b is based on a recent satellite image [17] and supports a previous conclusion that mature modern trees did not yet reach some parts of the study area where trees grew previously.…”

“…The map shown on Figure 5a uses color dots to reflect the location of Siberian larch specimens belonging to different age categories, while Figure 5b shows location of the trees with age exceeding 40 years, and tree remnants (trees that were growing within the study area and died during the Little Ice Age). The method and results of tree remnant mapping is described in Fomin et al [17]. Figure 6 shows the distribution map of Siberian larch for two age categories: 1-10 and 11-40 years, with specified locations of the tree remnants.…”

“…Forests 2022, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 14 40 years, and tree remnants (trees that were growing within the study area and died during the Little Ice Age). The method and results of tree remnant mapping is described in Fomin et al [17]. Figure 6 shows the distribution map of Siberian larch for two age categories: 1-10 and 11-40 years, with specified locations of the tree remnants.…”

“…Extensive research demonstrates the fact that forests advancing to the upper parts of mountain massif slopes located in different regions of Earth can be attributed to improvement of climate conditions that occurred in the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Mountain systems subject for the studies of climate-driven forest cover dynamics at the upper boundaries of the forest are used as areas for monitoring biota reactions to global and local climate changes [2,[13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…Intensive developments in the field of obtaining and processing high-spatial resolution satellite images, and ultra-high resolution images obtained with small unmanned aerial vehicles extended the spectrum of available solutions for obtaining and analyzing data on spatial position of the trees, which, in turn, create new opportunities for retrospective analysis of temporal and spatial dynamics of forests based on the quantitative assessment of age and specific biometrical parameters for the trees [17].…”